The last two decades have seen the UK lose a third of its independent music venues including legendary spots like The Cockpit in Leeds and The Roadhouse in Manchester to a combination of gentrification, property prices and a lockdown which saddled venues with £90m new debt. A survival plan is offered by the Music Venue Trust, which helps local communities collectively take over venues, and run them as not-for-profit community enterprises. This year saw the group’s most ambitious campaign yet (#OwnOurVenues), which sought to raise £2.5m to enable 9 venues to put their freeholds in the hands of music fans and away from developers.
